Signal lines are used in integrated circuits to conduct and provide electrical signals that are applied to the signal lines. The signal lines have electrical characteristics (e.g., resistance, capacitance, impedance, propagation delay, etc.), which may need to be taken into account when the electrical signals are applied to the signal lines. For example, a voltage signal applied to a signal line having greater impedance will generally take longer to reach a maximum voltage than for a signal line having lower impedance. Likewise, a signal line having greater impedance will generally have greater inherent propagation delay than a signal line having lower impedance, thus, the electrical signal may take greater time to propagate from one end of the signal to the other end.
The electrical characteristics of a signal line may be affected by a variety of factors. For example, the electrical characteristics of a signal line may be affected by the conductive material used for the signal line, the physical dimensions and geometry of the signal line, variations in the fabrication process of the signal line, and more.
Within a semiconductor structure including signal lines intended to have common electrical signals applied, it may be necessary to operate according to the signal line having the poorest performance. For example, where the semiconductor structure includes several signal lines that serve a similar function (e.g., word lines, digit lines, input/output lines, etc.), an electrical signal may be applied to all of the signal lines in a manner (e.g., voltage level, duration, etc.) that provides sufficient performance based on the signal line having, for example, the greatest impedance. Although the electrical signal could be better tailored for application to other ones of the signal lines of the structure, which may result in greater overall performance of the integrated circuit, such operation would require understanding the electrical characteristics of the particular signal lines so that the electrical signal will be applied to a particular signal line in a manner to provide sufficient performance.